A puppy — with a wet, cold nose to the ground and a briskly wagging tail — would happily take advantage of a visit to a strange new place by romping about and exploring every nook and cranny with the delicacy of a wrecking ball.

But not Blaze.

Visiting the Webster Street Fire Station today, the 7-month-old, 55-pound pup exhibited the comport of a much older dog, graciously accepting welcomes and pats but never displaying the rambunctiousness of a young animal.

Blaze is a special dog and he somehow knows it.

The puppy is in the midst of months-long training and he will one day become a lifelong companion to a physically-handicapped person, who, in order to function in society, might have to depend on the canine's skills, as well as his unquestioning love.

Blaze might sense expectations that he has to live up to.

His name memorializes Lts. Thomas E. Spencer, James F. Lyons, and Timothy P. Jackson and Firefighters Paul A. Brotherton, Jeremiah M. Lucey, and Joseph McGuirk — the “Worcester Six,” who perished battling the Dec. 3, 1999, fire at the Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Company building on Franklin Street.

“He's a pretty good dog,” said Fire Lt. John Franco, who helps pull together the Worcester Firefighters Memorial 6K, which takes place annually in June.

With proceeds from last year's event, race organizers donated $1,400 to NEADS (National Education for Assistance Dog Services), to name Blaze.

Interestingly, Blaze was born the week during which last year's race took place.

NEADS was founded in 1976 to provide canine assistance to people who are deaf or have other disabilities.

The organization also offers dogs to assist wounded combat veterans and autistic children.

John Moon, director of programs and communications at NEADS, said service dogs like Blaze can pick up dropped items, open doors and turn lights off and on, among other things.

“The dogs can even open a refrigerator door to get medicine for their partners,” Mr. Moon said.

NEADS officials said the dogs undergo 22 months of training. They are then matched up with a disabled person, who lives and trains for 10 to 14 days on the NEADS campus with their prospective animals.

Mr. Moon said NEADS generally chooses retrievers for training because of the breed's size, intelligence and temperament.

The dogs are purchased from breeders or Guiding Eyes for the Blind, which occasionally rejects a canine if it is not particularly adept at helping someone who can't see.

It costs about $25,000 to train a dog.

Fire officials said they were pleased that the yellow-colored Blaze will, in memory of the six firefighters who died 12 years ago, help some disabled person.

Lt. Franco said the Firefighters Memorial has raised about $300,000 over the years for local causes.

“This is what we do,” he said.

During today's visit to the firehouse, NEADS officials also presented firefighters with a painting by a prisoner from the John J. Moran Medium Security Facility in Rhode Island.

Inmates in 12 correctional facilities in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut — through the Prison Pup Partnership — help train the service dogs. The federal prison in Devens also participates.

Blaze received instruction from an inmate at the Moran facility.

The painting shows Blaze posed near the Worcester firefighter memorial, which is located at the firehouse built on the site of the Worcester Cold Storage fire.

The art piece wasn't painted by Blaze's handler but by another prisoner.

Lt. Franco said organizers hope to make another contribution to the Princeton-based nonprofit after this year's race in order to name a dog after Firefighter Jon D. Davies, who died in December after a portion of an Arlington Street three-decker collapsed on him during a fire.

That puppy will be named “Rescue.” Firefighter Davies served on Rescue 1.

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